Agenda item

THE YEAR OF BELIEFS

Members are asked to come to the meeting with proposals for their contribution to the event planned for the Year of Beliefs.

Minutes:

Members referred back to the discussion held at the previous meeting. For the benefit of those not in attendance in July, Julia Diamond-Conway explained that SACRE Members were keen to hold a grand celebration of Religious Education in Havering to tie in with the BBC’s ‘Year of Beliefs’ in 2019. The suggestion was to have some plans in place so that ideas could be discussed further with Subject Leaders the following week. It was noted that Luthaneal Adams had agreed to look at potential venues however was not in attendance in order to provide feedback.

 

Jenny Fox arrived at 6.15pm.

 

Various potential venues were discussed however it was agreed to contact Queens Theatre with the view to holding an exhibition of school work over a two week period and to hire the Green for a day and to invite believers to have a stall. Members agreed that following the exhibition, it would be beneficial to extend the celebration by moving the work to display in Romford Library. Cllr Ford gave reassurance that the Queens Theatre had the appropriate insurance to hold such an event.

 

Cllr Ford declared her interest as a Trustee of the Queens Theatre and agreed to contact the venue to seek further information regarding availability and charges. Members agreed that the date of the event would need to fit around availability of the exhibition space at Queens.

 

Kevin Walsh explained that, with adequate notice, a scene from the Hornchurch Passion Play could be part of the celebration. Other belief representatives agreed to also run stalls and it was agreed to invite the Inter Faith Forum to support the event. It was agreed that the idea of having a ‘What does Faith taste like’ element to the day would be welcomed.

 

A Member questioned whether schools would be set a certain theme to base their work around and it was suggested that SACRE could use the categories within the Spirited Arts competition as schools could then enter on a national and local level. It was noted that along with the art work, pupils had to provide written explanations of their work which could also be exhibited. Members were invited to look at the Spirited Arts website for further information on the competition. It was agreed that it would be preferable if the judges could come from within SACRE.

 

Members discussed the most suitable day of the week for hosting the stalls so as to suit all beliefs. It was agreed that Monday to Thursday would be the most suitable. Julia Diamond-Conway agreed to ask the Religious Education Subject Leaders the following week for their feedback and ascertain some idea of the level of school participation for such an event so as to aid the planning and scheduling of pupils visiting the exhibition.

Action: Julia Diamond-Conway

Councillor Tele Lawal arrived at 6.40pm.

 

It was suggested that alongside the event and exhibition, places of worship could also be opened up and schools invited in to visit. This was welcomed by all Members and Julia Diamond-Conway agreed to advertise this with the Subject Leaders once any details had been provided.